It’s early morning in Daytona and I’m getting ready to head to the racetrack. I went for a quick run this morning and almost melted into the asphalt. It’s so hot down here, but I do enjoy it.
I came down here yesterday to shoot a feature about Juan Pablo Montoya for our TNT pre-race show “NASCAR Live on TNT.” He is 12th in points right now and is really finding consistency that he hasn’t had in the past.
Montoya lives in Miami, not Charlotte as most NASCAR drivers do, and Wednesday he gave me a tour of the warehouse where he keeps all of his “toys.” I thought it was going to be a glorified storage unit with a few cars, bikes, etc., but it was much more than that. It blew me out of the water. You have to see the piece Sunday because he has his cars, his bikes, rock climbing walls, trophies and things I wouldn’t even think of. It's insane and very cool to see.
After the warehouse, he let us join him at his home near Miami Beach for an interview. He lives on the 47th floor and has a view to die for. It was unreal. His wife, Connie, and the kids were there. Connie was picking out artwork for the walls. The home has such a cool, modern style -- all stark white with very simple furniture.
It was really cool to see that side of the NASCAR driver. I hitched a ride from them to Daytona and now I’m gearing up for a day at the track. I’m interested in seeing who can get the edge through these first practices. I’m going out on a limb to pick a darkhorse this weekend: Kevin Harvick. He’s got a decent track record at Daytona and you know he wants to turn it around.
